Guard and finder for trolley-poles.



PATENT-ED JAN. 31, 1905'.

Not 781,316+

i W.v P. UNDBRHILL GUARDAND FINDER PoR TROLLEY POLBS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21. 1964.

journaled.

No. 781,316. l

UNITED e STATES WILLIAM P. UNDEEHILL, OE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

Patented January 31, 1905.

I PATENT j OFFICE.

GUARD AND .FINDER Fon TnoLLEY-PoLEs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 781,316, dated January 31, 1905.

Application fue@ May 21. 1904. serial No. 209,050.

To alli/071.0711, it may concern.:

Be it known that I, WILLTAM P. UNDERHILL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of Newy York, have invented a new and use- Vful Improvement in Guards and Finders for Trolley-Poles,'of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in guards and finders for trolley-poles; and the obj ect thereof is to provide a neat and eflicient .device of this character which is capable of protecting the trolley-wheel and also to re-y turn the wheel to the wire after passing any obstruction, as across-wire or switch, 0r when g the head tothe upper end of the trolley-pole and means von which the wheel and nders are My invention further consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts, such as ywill be more fully described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In theA accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation. Fig. 2 is atop plan view, and Fig. 3 is a view in vertical section of my device. l f f A indicatesl a sleeve or socket adapted to be received upon and secured to the upper end of the trolley-pole in any approved manner,

' providedwith apertures 3 3 for the reception l6 6, the peripheries of which extend very slightly beyond the outer and higheredges of the periphery of the wheel 5 to protect the latter from contact With any obstructions on the line. W'earingfplates 7 may be interposed between the rotating wheel 5 and the normally stationary guard plates 6 6.

-The outer surfaces of the guard-plates 6 6 are received in recesses or grooves formed in the,

finders, which latter comprise a pair of arms 8 8, extending diametrically across the guardplates and beyond the peripheries thereof. The `lower ends of the findersare shouldered, as at 9 9, to extend across the thickness of the guard-plates, and ythese lower lends are connected by means of a weighted bar 10, the purpose of which is to normally retain the guard-plates against rotation by friction and to retain the fingers next referred to -in position astride the wire.

The fingers 11 11 are located oppositely to the weighted end ofthe finder, the fingers being shouldered, as at 12 12, to rest upon the width of the guard-plates andslightly diverging from one another, as shown, the

upper ends of the fingers being tapered.

Rollers 13 13 are journaled on the yfingers opposite to one another and serve to removably retain thel wire in the groove inthe wheel as.v

well as reducing the friction engendered by the passage of the wire between the fingers yin replacing the wheel upon the wire when the car or vehicle is moving. The guardplates serve to` protect wheel 5 against lateral blows as well as incasing the wheel, and they further operate to brace the upper end of the finders 88 and prevent them from binding on the wheelshould they be injured or bent. As an additional means for retaining the finder in position with the fingers astride the wire I provide'a spring 14, one end of which is secured to one of the supporting-arms 1 1 and the opposite end of which is loosely received withinan eye 15, secured to the finder near the weighted bar, the movement ofthe fingers when engaging a cross-wire, forinstance, op-

erating to place the spring under tension, so that as soon as the fingers .have passed the cross-,wirehthe spring will return to them in normal position astride the conductor. The

spring may be coiled at its upper end, as at 16, and retained in position by means of a staple 17 or other securing means.

The usual rope 18, by means of which the conductor adjusts and controls the trolleypole and wheel, is secured to the cross-rod 2.

The operation of my device Will be readily understood from the foregoing. The wheel runs loosely on the axle 4 and between the normally stationary guard-plates 6 6, the fingers extending upwardly on each side of the conductor-wire to return the wheel thereto when it drops beneath or is jolted 01T of the wire. dien a cross-wire or switch is reached the fingers contact therewith and swing rearwardly, together with the guard-plates, which latter may be engaged by the cross-wire or other obstruction to take the impact instead of the wheel, thus preventing the ma'rring or injuring of the wheel. The rearward movement of the fingers places the spring under tension and raises the weight, so that when the fingers escape from the cross-wire they are automatically and instantaneously returned to normal position astride the conductor-wire.

Itis evident that many changes might be made in the form and arrangement of the several parts described without departing' from the spirit and scope of my invention, andhence I do not wish to limit myself to the exact construction herein set forth; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isle 1. A trolley-head consisting of a suitable support, a trolley-wheel journaled therein, guard-plates loosely mounted on each side of the trolley-wheel, recessed finders extending transversely of the guard-plates, the latter received in the recesses formed in the finders, and means for automatically retaining the finders in a normally vertical position.

2. Atrolley-head comprising a suitable support, a trolley-wheel carried thereby, and finders pivotally located on either side of the wheel, the finders normally extending above the wheel and being' tapered at their ends, means mounted on the support and engaging the finders for automatically returning the finders to normal vertical position, and gravity-operated means carried by the finders for assisting this return movement.

3. A trolley-head comprising a sleeve, supporting-arms projecting therefrom, an axle carried by the arms, a trolley-wheel mounted on the axle. guard-plates located on either side of the wheeLfinders located adjacent the guardplates, the finders and guard-plates normally stationary and pivotally mounted on the axle and means engaging the finders to return them to normal vertical position after displacement.

4. A trolley-head provided with supportingarms, a trolley-wheel journaled in the arms, finders loosely mounted on each side of the trolley-wheel, the finders extendingdiametrically across the wheel, means connecting the finders at their lower ends, a spring, one end of the spring secured to one of the arms, and means carried by one of' the finders with which the free end of the spring is loosely engaged, the spring normally lying in a flexed position.

5. Atrolley-head comprising asleeve, supporting-arms projecting therefrom, the outer ends of the arms connected by means of a strengthening-bar, a controlling-cord secured to the bar, a trolley-wheel journaled in the arms, guard-plates loosely mounted on each side of the wheel and finders located adjacent the guard-plates, the finders extending beyond the guard-plates at 'either end, means connecting the finders at one end thereof, rollers mounted transversely of the finders on their free ends, andmeans for returning the finders and guard-plates to normal position after displacement.

In testimony whereof l have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

XVILLIAM 1. UNDERHILL.

\Vit1iesses: i

R. \V. MARKS, SAMUEL H. ANDREWS. 

